Rebecca

The Nanny follows our main character, India, who takes a nannying position for a family with lots of secrets.

It started out really strong. You are quickly introduced to multiple suspicious characters, and you follow India as she is trying to determine what rumors to believe and who to trust. Throughout the book, we also get snippets of some letters India is writing to a friend from home, but we don't know much about this friend. I enjoyed the addition of the letters. They started to give a creepier vibe as the story went on.

I do think this could have been shorter. The pacing of the beginning and end was good, but the middle dragged a little to me, and it just seemed like a lot of the same type things were happening over and over in the plot. I was also liking the characters in the beginning, but as the story went on, I was getting a little bored by them and waiting for things to wrap up.

If you enjoy thrillers with romance and a main character who thinks she might be going insane, you should check this one out. It just wasn't a favorite of mine.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for giving me a copy in exchange for a review!

This story follows 26 year old Lucy, who is down on her luck and wishes to skip to the “good part” of her life. When she wakes up the next day, she's 42 and quickly realizes that this part of her life may not have everything she dreamed it would have.

I found this super interesting because it's such a natural thing to sometimes wish you were at a different stage of your life, but if you truly were able to skip to the “good part” of your future, then you would miss all the good, bad, and ugly in between. These are all the things that make life so chaotic and special. I enjoyed following Lucy as she tried to navigate the future that she hastily wished for.

As with Sophie Cousens' other books, this one is funny and a clean romance. It does feel more contemporary fiction than her others, and I don't think there is as much focus on the romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an arc in exchange for a review!

I usually really enjoy Sarah Hogle's books, so I was disappointed by this one. I did not like Alex. From the start, he came across as annoying, immature, and a know-it-all, and he didn't really redeem himself throughout the whole book. The most important thing in romance books for me is liking both main characters individually and together, so I just couldn't get behind their relationship. The banter and flirting felt cringe and not cute.

I did like the setting. It was very springtime with all the flowers and a touch of “magic.” I liked the parts of the plot that weren't focused on the romance, and they even had a few funny moments. I have found her books laugh-out-loud funny in the past, but this one overall wasn't doing it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review!

this is fine if you want a thriller that's not very tense, but i found it pretty dull throughout. it was a pretty basic domestic-type thriller with some rich people drama (politicians, congresspeople) but no super juicy drama. got better towards the end but not that riveting as a whole. writing style was weird to me - felt choppy.

I am thoroughly impressed by this book. I had zero expectations going into it – had never heard of it or the author, but it is the June pick for the Literally Dead Book Club, so I decided to try it out. I am very glad that I did!

This story basically follows two groups of people: one group who committed a crime and is trying to cover it up & the detectives trying to solve said crime. I wasn't so sure about it when I first started because there wasn't much mystery since the reader witnesses the crime, but I think the book slowly evolved into more of a character study, and it started becoming very interesting.

I loved how smart it was. There is one character who is a mathematician and another who is a physicist, so there are some discussions thrown in involving theorems and experimentation which I found super interesting.

The writing was very satisfying, the characters were intellectual, and it had an emotional ending. Very much recommend.

The setting and atmosphere were great - atmosphere is very moody and gothic because of this sentient house & the mist that surrounds it. There are also a lot of mysteries surrounding the house and the owners of the house that I found intriguing in the beginning. I thought it was interesting finding out why the house attracts the people it does.

I didn't love the romance in this and felt that it was kind of unnecessary and would have been better as just a friendship. I think there was a lot in the plot that felt unnecessary and I wasn't sure why it was in there; plot was just kind of losing me as the book went on.

4.5

The setting immediately drew me in - it's set on a seaside town and I think it really brought out the magic of the story.

I enjoyed following Tana as she learned about consequences of her decisions. She has a strong friendship with her best friend, and they always have each other's backs. The romance was a little rushed, but I thought they had a great connection, and Tana's character growth was so strong because of the impact Wolfe had on her.

This is light & magical and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks for NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an arc in exchange for my review!

A missing person case with a few moral dilemmas as well!

This book was so good. We are following a few different perspectives, so we get some great insight into the thoughts of other characters that aren't the main detective on this case. I also found the different moral dilemmas very interesting and looked forward to seeing how they would play out. The plot has lots of twists and turns along the way, and it really kept me flipping the pages.

Thanks to William Morrow for sending me an early copy through a giveaway!

this was fun! the plot is engaging, kept me interested, and had surprising elements to it. the characters have fun banter in all their relationships - friendships, romance, & relationship between dragons and riders. i really enjoyed following them in their dragon school, and it gave early 2010s nostalgic vibes which was so fun to me.

the characters are all early adult (20-23 ish), but the writing style feels younger (not necessarily in a bad way). it feels kind of YA but has more spice and language than a YA book should because the characters are a little older.